Ceasefire. Sort of.

Last night Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza. Claiming that Israel had reached all of its goals in the operation, PM Olmert declared that the IDF would cease attacks on Gaza but not withdraw its troops. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the army is ready to resume attacks if it became clear that Hamas “did not get the message.”

In response Hamas launched fired rockets at Israel, saying it was not bound by the unilateral ceasefire and that Israeli occupation of Gaza is unacceptable.

Although many Hamas terrorist installations have been destroyed, the Palestinians in Gaza clearly still have the ability to terrorize the citizens in the south of Israel. So that is one objective not accomplished. And, although the Israeli government never said it out loud, the rescue of Gilad Shalit must also have been an objective, and that was not accomplished either. So how is it that the Israeli government has announced they are finished?

One possibility which comes to mind is that Israel hopes that Hamas will break the ceasefire and force Israel to attack again. This would seriously undermine Hamas claims to humanitarian suffering at the hands of Israel and the unfairness of the attack. Another possibility is that the army has run out of targets to hit in Gaza and would like to get its troops out safely. Israel may plan to leave some military presence in Gaza indefinitely, under the assumption that this is the only way to achieve security for the southern border of Israel.

In all the uncertainty, one thing is clear: There is a ceasefire. Sort of.

2 Comments on “Ceasefire. Sort of.”

Onepossibility which comes to mind is that Israel hopes that Hamas will break the ceasefire and force Israel to attack again. This would seriously undermine Hamas claims to humanitarian suffering at the hands of Israel and the unfairness of the attack.

This thought had occurred to me too. In fact, I also ask myself the same question concerning the overall point of the invasion. The results can only be trauma and more hatred, as Hamas cannot be destroyed militarilily, unless one does a full-scale occupation.

Maybe not, but I bet Israel has set back Hamas quite a bit. While they rebuild their terrorist institutions Israel will have some time to breathe.

I am not sure Israel can prevent Hamas and Palestinian hatred of Israel no matter what it does, so I don’t think that needs to be a factor in Israeli policy decisions. Hatred of Israel and Jews is taught to Palestinians from an early age and is not likely to be influenced by any actions on the part of Israel.